page_title: Christmas tree
section_title: See also
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas tree / See also
caption_attribution_description: English: A pretzel, in the shape of a Christmas tree. Sold in England by Aldi in December 2019.
context_page_description: A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas, originating in Northern Europe. The custom was developed in medieval Livonia, and in early modern Germany where Protestant Germans brought decorated trees into their homes. It acquired popularity beyond the Lutheran areas of Germany and the Baltic countries during the second half of the 19th century, at first among the upper classes. The Catholic Church had long resisted this Protestant custom and the Christmas Tree stood for the first time in Vatican in 1982.
  The tree was traditionally decorated with "roses made of colored paper, apples, wafers, tinsel, [and] sweetmeats". In the 18th century, it began to be illuminated by candles, which were ultimately replaced by Christmas lights after the advent of electrification. Today, there is a wide variety of traditional and modern ornaments, such as garlands, baubles, tinsel, and candy canes. An angel or star might be placed at the top of the tree to represent the Angel Gabriel or the Star of Bethlehem, respectively, from the Nativity.
context_section_description: Badnjak
  Christmas traditions
  Christmas tree controversies
  Eiresione
  Festive ecology
  Festivus pole
  Hanukkah bush
  Kadomatsu
  Legend of the Christmas Spider
  Tree worship
  Weihnachten
  Yule log
caption: A miniature salted pretzel, shaped like a Christmas tree. Sold in England by Aldi in 2019.
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